Too Small to Matter, or Too Important to Tell?

That's been the mantra at Apple (NAS: AAPL) for years now. New products are invariably veiled in secrecy, and when an errant iPhone finds its way into the blogosphere ahead of time, the police get involved. Samsung and others are at the sharp end of Cupertino's lawsuit stick for allegedly copying design concepts from iPhones and iPads. And what's a product announcement without "one more thing" that nobody expected?

The company settled a lawsuit with Finnish phone giant Nokia (NYS: NOK) this summer, paying out some money and signing a cross-licensing agreement to make the problem go away. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, which typically points to a minuscule cash payment that doesn't change anybody's business prospects.

And indeed, that was Cupertino's position at the time, as explained in an SEC filing: "The total amounts to be paid under the Patent License Agreement were immaterial to the Company's overall liquidity and financial position and no aspects of the Company's arrangements with Nokia represented a material trend or uncertainty or were otherwise material or necessary to make any required disclosures not misleading. "

But that wasn't good enough for the SEC, and the agency pressed on for more information until Apple handed over the required data. But now, the company sings a different tune. Now the settlement contains "commercially sensitive information" and should therefore be treated as top secret.

Court papers are sealed and redacted all the time; I don't have a problem with that part of this saga. It's the turncoat attitude that bothers me.

The Nokia settlement is too inconsequential to matter, yet too sensitive for full disclosure. If the settlement was too full of business secrets all along, then why not say so right away? Shareholders, also known as the people who actually own the business, are kept in the dark. And if management can obfuscate this trifling matter, who knows what other shenanigans might be going on?

Full disclosure is where it's at, people. Add Apple to your Foolish watchlist to follow the sneakiest operator of them all. With an avalanche of news and analysis at your disposal, you'll be better equipped to see through the smoke and mirrors.